Yelsk (; ; ; ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Gomel Region,

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. It serves as the administrative center of Yelsk District. As of 2025, it has a population of 8,623. Yelsk was greatly affected by radioactive fallout from the

Chernobyl disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

in 1986.

History

The city was occupied by German troops during summer 1941. The local Jews of Yelsk were gathered and deported towards Kalinkovichi and Mozyr. Approximately two weeks after the departure of the Jews of Yelsk, the Jews of the nearby Jewish village of Skorodnoye were brought in and locked inside a building. Then, the Germans set fire to the building all the Jews were burned alive.

References

Populated places in Belarus Populated places in Gomel region Holocaust locations in Belarus Yelsk district {{Belarus-geo-stub